If Barack Obama was a LIFE Supporter, his agenda would look like this…

The broad agenda is no different that that adopted by the Obama team: stabilize the economy, restore the rule of law and the balance of justice to the people.
To see how the policies and strategies below align with these goals, go to the bottom of this post.

The first thing he would do would be to establish five commissions, each tasked with the development of detailed implementation plans for major policy areas:

energy

BASE

taxes

democracy

digital identity

The Energy commission
This commission is tasked with the introduction of initial carbon loading taxes starting in January 2010. Commissioners with expertise in the mechanisms of fuel markets, efficiency and environmental impact will have only a few months to determine the initial fuels that will attract a carbon tax and the mechanism by which carbon load will be calculated.
However rudimentary the initial implementation is, it is important that this is started as soon as possible.
All revenues from the carbon tax will be dedicated to the development of renewable energy industries.

The BASE commission
Charged with the assessment costs for the provisioning of all BASE services to all citizens, starting on 1 January 2011. The first task for this commission will be to assess a Shelter Equivalent value that can be used in the housing acquisition program (see below). Mechanisms for the distribution of funds to cover the costs of BASE services are also part of this commission’s responsibilities.

The Tax commission
This commission is responsible for reforming the IRS to allow it to effectively provide income tax collection services on behalf of all constituencies starting on January 1, 2011. Part of this work will be assessing the costs associated with those elements of government that do not fall under the purview of BASE, and will therefore have to be funded from corporate or sales taxes. Using these assessments and the results of assessments by the BASE commission, they will be able to determine the required rates of taxation necessary to cover the existing government budget.

This commission will also be responsible for the establishment of processes by which the tax revenues allocated to BASE services are distributed to the lowest layer constituency appropriate for the delivery of the service. In many, if not most, cases this will mean distribution to the States until lower layer constituencies are established in 2011 and later.

The Democracy commission
This commission is tasked with reform of the electoral process for federal assemblies (Senate & House) effective 2013, and developing the processes and frameworks that will allow for the development of multilayer representation starting at the community level. Included in the remit for this commission will be the establishment of boundary commission standards and the development of a framework for the election of a world assembly.

The xID commission
Responsible for developing the standards for a xID digital identity system that will be introduced at the beginning of 2012. Experts in technology infrastructure, digital security and constitutional matters will develop technical, operational and legal standards for the system in compliance with the standards for distributed storage and privacy defined in the xID specification.

2009

In addition to the establishment of these commissions, during the first 90 days an independent central bank will be created charged with responsibility for the management of the currency and the regulation of banking system.

Also in the first three months, the Guantánamo prison and all CIA black sites will be closed and any prisoners deemed to be an ongoing threat to the country brought back to the USA to be tried in courts.

Military deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan will start a rapid draw down with the target of returning to a small number of defensible bases within 12 months.

Last but not least, draft a constitutional amendment protecting personal freedom of choice in personal space, targeted for ratification in 2011.

Housing acquisition program
As soon as the independent central bank is established and the BASE commission has derived a Shelter Equivalent value (effectively a replacement value for a standardized housing unit), it will be possible for any citizen to sell their primary residence to the public for a payment equal to the Shelter Equivalent. The citizen will retain a 20 year, inheritable, occupancy right to the property but ownership will belong to the community/public. Until BASE services are fully introduced, the tenant will be responsible for the payment of utilities and the costs of maintenance, failure to pay these costs can result in termination of occupancy.
Any mortgage lender will have to surrender their interest in the property in return for the Shelter Equivalent payment.
This program will be in effect until 2011, or the start of BASE services.

Federal legal review
The Justice Department will review all federal laws and rescind any laws on the books that contravene the proposed amendment regarding personal freedom.
The Justice Department will establish a review process for the case-by-case review of the sentencing of all people currently held in custody, or subject to parole restrictions, based solely on convictions under laws that are now to be rescinded.

2010

BASE services will be started early for all veterans. Meaning that veterans will have free access to all public services, including housing, sustenance, healthcare, transport, education, information and legal services.

Carbon taxes start.

Cessation of all non-defensive missions by military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. Future military activity will only be engaged in the support of efforts initiated and led by domestic governments that have been democratically elected by their people.

New tax regime starts along with the implementation of BASE services for all residents.

Draft constitutional amendments, resulting from the work of the Democracy Commission, presented for the establishment of multilayer representation, variable law, proportional representation elections and the new standards for suffrage, targeted for ratification in 2013.

2012

First xID systems online.

First world assembly election campaign starts.

At the end of 2012 there will be another presidential election which will provide the people an opportunity for a referendum on the changes made to-date, as well as the proposed constitutional amendments to change the representation and election systems in 2013.
By the beginning of 2013 there will have been elections for all federally elected positions since the announcement of the agenda. This provides for representation that expresses the people’s desires regarding the enactment of the chnages proposed.

Policy Alignment

Economic stablity

Containing the collapse of the housing bubble using the housing acquisition program will stabilize communities by keeping people in their homes and liberating income from debt service that will then be redirected into spending that will stimulate the economy.

Establishing a clear path to a balanced budget, through BASE and tax reform that tackles the social security debts and ties expenditure to revenues, as well as the formation of an independent central bank will restore domestic and global confidence in the economy and our currency, allowing us to borrow credibly should the need arise.

Removing the burdens for pensions and healthcare from industry, by introducing BASE services, will allow for a restructuring of primary manufacturing instead of widespread bankruptcies.

Proper pricing of fuels, through the inclusion of carbon loading, will allow the market to move into the appropriate alternative energy options and will create a fund that can be used for transport infrastructure improvements and the retooling of manufacturing to produce “green” products.

Restoring the rule of law

The introduction of an constitutional amendment to protect personal freedom will do much to restore the public confidence in the rule of law and liberate the judiciary from being confused with the moral police.

Repeal of laws that intrude on personal freedom will free up resources in the judicial, enforcement and detention systems

Restoration of the principles of human dignity and the pursuit of peace will allow us to again champion the rule of law at home and abroad

The establishment of a path to Variable Law will add credibility to the rule of law in our large and complex society

Restoring social justice

Placing the most basic welfare of all citizens at the heart of government endeavor restores the rightful balance that will allow our great economy to flourish once more

Creating the infrastructures for healthcare, education, transport and information will create the opportunity for many to succeed using their own talents, ingenuity and drive

Bringing democratic power back to the communities through reform of our democracy will restore the natural balance between us at the same time that it gives us the ability to take responsibility for ourselves

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Providing context for LIFE

The Standards of LIFE is an open-origin project to develop sustainable structures for today's human societies to replace the dysfunctional parts of our existing industrial democracies.
This blogroll provides context for the LIFE policies by showing how the problems in today's headlines would be addressed by applying the Standards of LIFE.